Month: March 2011

The brackets are out for the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Struck me as odd a couple of teams locations since the NCAA supposedly does not like giving teams a home court advantage. Well, they did to a large degree. How far would you drive on a whim to watch your team play in the tournament? A couple of hours is no big deal. Four or five makes it a little difficult. Eight hours and you’re talking about missing work and finding babysitters. Twelve hours? Forget about it. There’s a reason I ask that. Take a look at this little chart I put together:

Team

Site

Dist.

Hours @ 50

Notre Dame

Chicago, Illinois

95

2

Purdue

Chicago, Illinois

124

2

North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

139

3

Duke

Charlotte, North Carolina

142

3

Ohio State

Cleveland, Ohio

143

3

Hampton

Charlotte, North Carolina

157

3

Bucknell

Washington, DC

185

4

Old Dominion

Washington, DC

192

4

Georgia

Charlotte, North Carolina

199

4

Kansas

Tulsa, Oklahoma

218

4

Tennesse

Charlotte, North Carolina

231

5

Pittsburgh

Washington, DC

246

5

Xavier

Cleveland, Ohio

246

5

Syracue

Cleveland, Ohio

334

7

Akron

Chicago, Illinois

368

7

Connecticut

Washington, DC

376

8

George Mason

Cleveland, Ohio

376

8

Indiana State

Cleveland, Ohio

393

8

Memphis

Tulsa, Oklahoma

402

8

Villanova

Cleveland, Ohio

409

8

San Diego State

Tucson, Arizona

410

8

Texas

Tulsa, Oklahoma

451

9

Brigham Young

Denver, Colorado

483

10

Cincinnati

Washington, DC

521

10

Illinois

Tulsa, Oklahoma

575

12

Butler

Washington, DC

592

12

Marquette

Cleveland, Ohio

612

12

Michigan

Charlotte, North Carolina

614

12

Long Island

Charlotte, North Carolina

646

13

Georgetown

Chicago, Illinois

700

14

Utah State

Tucson, Arizona

716

14

Saint Peters

Chicago, Illinois

792

16

Kentucky

Tampa, Florida

836

17

North Colorado

Tucson, Arizona

900

18

Missouri

Washington, DC

914

18

West Virginia

Tampa, Florida

958

19

Florida State

Chicago, Illinois

960

19

Texas A&M

Chicago, Illinois

1074

21

Princeton

Tampa, Florida

1090

22

Gonzaga

Denver, Colorado

1091

22

Arizona

Tulsa, Oklahoma

1097

22

Louisville

Denver, Colorado

1111

22

Kansas State

Tucson, Arizona

1151

23

Vanderbilt

Denver, Colorado

1158

23

UNLV

Tulsa, Oklahoma

1221

24

Morehead

Denver, Colorado

1245

25

Temple

Tulsa, Oklahoma

1279

26

Wofford

Denver, Colorado

1506

30

Boston

Tulsa, Oklahoma

1570

31

Belmont

Tucson, Arizona

1613

32

Richmond

Denver, Colorado

1670

33

Wisconsin

Tucson, Arizona

1720

34

Oakland

Tulsa, Oklahoma

1724

34

St John

Denver, Colorado

1777

36

Penn State

Tucson, Arizona

2284

46

UCLA

Tampa, Florida

2544

51

UC Santa Barbara

Tampa, Florida

2634

53

Washington

Charlotte, North Carolina

2802

56

How many people will have to sacrifice much of anything at all to watch Duke and North Carolina the first round? How many Washington fans will get the same privilege? The NCAA’s giving their pets a home court advantage.